The concrete masonry unit (CMU) and brick are preferred building materials used in the construction of a wide variety of structures. The CMU is durable, relatively inexpensive, and allows the construction of vertical walls having strong integral support in a relatively short time. Walls built from CMUs are built by stacking the blocks on top of each other in successive layers, each layer separated by an application of mortar. While mortar is designed to set up and cure relatively quickly, the uppermost part of the wall is considered "green" or less stable than lower areas of the wall. As CMU walls are often built quite high and may have considerable horizontal dimensions, the large area often associated with CMU construction often makes the wall vulnerable to wind, which may cause the collapse of all or part of the wall during construction.
To provide support to the wall during construction, a pole brace may be used to stabilize the wall at a single point. The pole brace is typically built from steel, has a fixed length, and incorporates a connecting bracket located at each end. The pole brace is attached to the wall by placing one of the connecting brackets over a bolt that is driven through the wall, and placing the other connecting bracket over another bolt that is secured to the ground in a caisson, footing, or by other methods. Pole braces are often used at several locations on a wall during construction.
The pole brace is only able to provide support at the point where it is attached, and only supports the wall as long as the block and mortar holds the attaching bolt. Another significant shortcoming of the pole brace is that the pole brace cannot support the wall at the weakest area, the "green" upper region, because the pole brace must constantly be repositioned. While the positioning of pole braces to stabilize points in the wall provides some degree of safety, positioning a large number of pole braces delays the construction time and thus increases the cost of the wall. Thus, the current practice of reinforcing CMU walls during construction through the use of pole braces limits the safety afforded workers and property as well as delays the time in which a wall may be constructed. An attempt to solve this problem has involved the placement of a board between the pole brace connection and the bolt driven through the wall. In addition to the weak support of such boards, a board cannot be extended, and must be repositioned just as a pole brace used without a board. There is a great need in the construction industry for an adjustable brace that may be applied quickly and effectively to reinforce new areas of a CMU wall as the wall is being constructed.